President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party has officially requested that the head of government reshuffle the Cabinet and replace ministers from disloyal coalition partners, a party executive says.
“Yesterday, I, along with our faction chairman [Anas Urbaningrum] and Pak Jafar Hafsah met with Pak SBY and we had an open dialog. We told him about reshuffling ministers from naughty coalition partners. Pak SBY then said ‘I will seriously consider it’,” Democratic Party secretary-general Amir Syamsudin told a discussion at the House of Representatives on Friday.
Previously, Democratic Party legislator Ruhut Sitompul said leaders of the government coalition parties had planned to meet up and to conduct a lobbying session to prevent any Cabinet reshuffle.
Ruhut added that a number of Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party executives, such as Anas, had already prepared themselves for appointment as ministers should the reshuffle take place.
In response to Ruhut’s statement, Anas said that had no ambition to take up ministerial jobs because he would focus on his legislative duties.
The Democratic Party coalition consists of the Golkar Party, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the National Mandate Party (PAN), the United Development Party (PPP), and the National Awakening Party (PKB).
There has been speculation of a Cabinet reshuffle after politicians from coalition partners were too critical of the government in their inquiry into the Bank Century bailout case.
The PAN, the PPP and the PKB support the Democratic Party in defending the bailout policy, but seek further investigation of the disbursement of the bailout fund.
Golkar and the PKS, on the other hand, insist that there has to be something fishy behind the bailout, which ballooned to Rp 6.76 trillion (US$716 million) from its original estimate and was authorized by two of Yudhoyono’s most trusted aides – Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati and former Bank Indonesia governor, Boediono, who is now the vice president.
Both Golkar and the PKS hold several key ministerial posts in the current Cabinet.
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